Saints Exodus from Nauvoo Part 1

.1 is a program that examines the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from a biblical perspective viewpoint.

One more minute sponsored by Mormonism research ministry since 1979 Mormonism research ministry has been dedicated to equipping the body of Christ with answers regarding the Christian faith in a manner that expresses gentleness and respect. And now, your host for today's viewpoint on Mormonism welcome to this edition of viewpoint on Mormonism on your host, Bill McKeever, founder and director Mormonism research ministry and with me today is Eric Johnson. My colleague at M. R.

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Saints know on how load hand its volume 2, and a set of four that will be eventually coming out that recounts the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

We have already looked at volume 1, that was titled Saints the standard of truth volume 1 ends with the Latter Day Saints preparing to leave Nauvoo, Illinois. After the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon movement and getting ready to move west.

This book continues that thought by talking about how they are still considering moving west but they just haven't done so as of yet, this book was published in 2020. It gets its name from a statement that Joseph Smith made in 1842. He said the standard of truth has been erected.

No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing persecutions may rage mobs may combine armies may assemble gallantly may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly and independent till it has penetrated every continent visited every climb swept every country and sounded in every year until the purposes of God shall be accomplished in the great Jehovah shall say the work is done. So that's where this book gets its name. No unhallowed hand now.

Chapter 1 and were not going to be going through every chapter in this book, but there are some historical entries that we certainly do feel that we need to comment on button part number one title rise and go covers the time of October 1845 to August 1852 now August 1852 of courses when they had that general conference and Orson Pratt was allowed to introduce publicly the doctrine of polygamy, which of course was being practiced during this time, but done secretly and because it was done secretly that cause Joseph Smith a lot of problems. Several of the men who put together the novel expositor knew of Joseph Smith's secret practice of polygamy and this is what ultimately led to Joseph Smith demise after the Nauvoo expositor newspaper was published and Joseph Smith had that paper and the printing press destroyed. Now Joseph Smith is dead and so now we get to page 3 in chapter 1 title gather up a company I want to speak about the dead, thousands of latter-day Saints hushed as Lucy Maximus voice echoed through the large assembly hall on the first floor of the nearly completed Nauvoo Temple that we should stop Lucy Max Smith is the mother of Joseph Smith. She is going to address this conference that is held as it says in the On the morning of October 8, 1845. Now, from what we understand. Lucy had asked to speak at this conference. From what we gather. She was not invited to speak. She kind of invited herself, but she wanted to speak so this is where the third paragraph comes in.

It was the morning of October 8, 1845. The third and final day of the fall conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, knowing she would not have many more opportunities to speak to the saints, especially now that they plan to leave Nauvoo for a new home. Part of the West. Lucy spoke with the power beyond her feeble 70-year-old body quote. It was 18 years ago last 22nd of September that Joseph took the plates out of the earth, and it was 18 years. Last Monday since Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Lord. And then there's in — and it and then it says she paused remembering Joseph her martyred son the saints in the room already knew how an angel of the Lord had led him to a set of gold plates buried in a hill called Camorra.

They knew that Joseph had translated the place by the gift and power of God and publish the record as the book of Mormon. Yet how many saints in the assembly Hall had truly known him will go back and look over what we've seen so far, she's going to give this emotional appeal, obviously. And so, at the bottom of page 3.

When she's mentioning it was 18 years. Last Monday since Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Lord and then as you said, there's this — and I'm sure that's done for a fact she paused, remembering Joseph her martyred son. That's probably how you should be reading it. Eric because this is an emotional time.

And of course the Mormon church loves to play off individual emotion in the death of Joseph Smith is a very emotional moment in Mormon church history. I'm not trying to downplay that the death of Smith. Certainly not. But that is a huge part of why Mormons are what they are there emotions play a huge role. Why do they believe what they believe.

Many times it's based on an emotional feeling that they feel they have received from the Holy Ghost, and the idea that Joseph Smith was a martyr, just a Smith predicted he would be a martyr. According to LDS historians that he said that he would be as a lamb led to the slaughter, and so Latter Day Saints today look at just a Smith as a martyred man who died for his faith and died for the latter-day St. people. There's a phrasing here that I think we need to bring attention to where it says at the top of page for the saints in the room already knew how an angel of the Lord had led him. Speaking of Joseph Smith to a set of gold plates buried in a hill called Camorra what attracted my attention Eric on this was when it says a set of gold plates. Notice it doesn't say a set of gold then plates remember a few years ago there was an inside magazine that came out like can't recall the month or the year but we noticed that there were a lot of articles on the plates and they kept referring to the plates as gold then plates we had often heard the argument on the streets talking with Latter Day Saints that the plates were gold at all, that they were some kind of metal that had a golden color. And, of course, why were Mormons using this type of argumentation will because even their own apologists knew that if the plates were actually made of the metal mold they would be severely heavy, making it impossible for Joseph Smith to do what he claimed to have done when he retrieved the plates out of the ground, put them in a hollow log and then went back later to carry them 3 miles away to the Smith home, so the fact that they're using the phrase gold plates I think is something we should focus on and that allows us to once again show the Latter Day Saints why we have a problem with this idea that Joseph Smith allegedly had gold plates was able to carry them for a distance of 3 miles jumping over log fighting off attackers and do it all sucks of incredibly physically strenuous feats in order to get those plates home. And of course nobody saw them they were always covered up always wrapped up in fact defined in the When it talks about the alleged interpreters that were buried with the plates that were to be used by Joseph Smith to translate the suppose it reformed Egyptian characters off the goal plates into English. It continues Lucy could still remember when Joseph then only 21 years old, had first told her that God had entrusted him with the plates she had been anxious all morning afraid he would return from the hill empty-handed as he had the four previous years, but when he arrived, he had quickly calmed her nerves. He had said do not be uneasy. All is right.

He had then handed her the interpreters.

The Lord had provided for the translation of the plates wrapped in a handkerchief as proof that he has succeeded in getting the record. Now these interpreters can't be the seer stone. I have to assume Lucy Max Smith already knew about the seer stone Smith had that for several years at this time, but this is supposed to be the spectacles that Joseph Smith describes in his testimony, he hands her the interpreters of these spectacles that the Lord had provided for the translation of the plates wrapped in a handkerchief. So again she's not seen within the handkerchief she's being told that what is in the handkerchief are these interpreters yet.

This is supposed to be.

As this paragraph says proof that he had succeeded in getting the record isn't that how Joseph Smith operates with the book of Mormon, though, because he says that he has a plates he allows people to touch the plates from inside of a bag, but they can never see them. And so it seems that Joseph Smith has such charisma that he's able to get people to believe whatever he's saying without people actually ever inspecting what is inside and I think you make a good point in going back to this paragraph that talks about the goal plates the line that says the saints in the room. This is the room were there listening to Lucy Max Smith speak at Gen. conference already knew how an angel of the Lord had led him to a set of goal plates see this is something that Mormon certainly do believe in.

So when it speaks of them already knowing that's what what is it referring to is referring to the testimony that they assume every Latter Day Saints has and if you talk to a latter-day St. about the goal plates or if you talk to a latter-day St. about this alleged first vision. They always speak of those events in terms of will. I know this happened while they believe it happened. But how do they really know it happened because the proof for those events certainly sounds allusive, especially when in the case of the goal plates. Nobody really sees them.

They only assume what they are touching or the plates because Smith told them they were plates in here in this line here regarding the interpreters. It says it was proof to her. Lucy Max Smith that he had succeeded in getting the record.

All it proves is that he had something wrapped in a handkerchief that may have felt like a pair of spectacles.

Would that be hard to duplicate. I wonder, I don't think so, but it did tend to I would say bring Lucy Max Smith to the belief that that's what Joseph Smith really had bill the Bible says that it's impossible to please God without faith. A latter-day St. could argue, what about your faith in something like the resurrection. You weren't there, and yet you say that you know that the resurrection of Jesus took place. How would you answer something like that. I would argue that there is a way that we can come to the conclusion that the resurrection was real. And you're right, I wasn't there so I can't prove it with any type of empirical evidence that this would you say Eric is a little bit different. I me were talking about actual artifacts here talking about that when it comes to the resurrection and if these artifacts really existed then. If you're going to say the these artifacts are proof that Joseph Smith, for instance, in this case, it succeeded in getting these goal plates are this gold record then how do we know it's proof.

If we never really get to see and why does it have to be hidden because we know that Joseph Smith claimed that the plates were not allowed to be shown, but what about the spectacles.

Why is everything so secretive here.

That's a great question and then tomorrow show are going to continue looking at the first chapter of this book a history book titled saints.

No unhallowed hand. Volume 2.

In a series of four that is being put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Thank you for listening. If you would like more information regarding his research ministry. We encourage you to visit our website at www.mrm.org you can request a free newsletter Mormonism research. We hope you will join us again as we look at another viewpoint is sharing your faith with the Latter Day Saints kid helps to know what their church is taught in several basic topics. For this reason, the research ministry has provided its crash course Mormonism crash course, Mormonism includes concise articles highlighting what LDS leaders and church manuals have taught on issues that will probably come up in a typical conversation. You can find these informative articles and crash course Mormonism.com that's crash course Mormonism.com